For Medicare ACOs, 66% Of Outpatient Specialty Office Visits Outside The ACO Network

Among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in an accountable care organization (ACO) in 2010 and 2011, about 66.7% of their office visits for specialty care were with provider organizations not participating in the ACO. About 8.7% of ACO members’ office visits with primary care physicians were with provider organizations not participating in the ACO.

These findings were reported in “Outpatient Care Patterns and Organizational Accountability in Medicare” by J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D.; Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D.; Jesse B. Dalton, MA; and Bruce E. Landon, M.D., MBA, MSc. They sought to establish a baseline for how . . .